Business Screen Magazine (1965-1966)

IP (rONTINlED FROM IMI PRPrFDING PAGF 14) any great scheme he has to develop a big program built around the flu shot." In short, he should know hi>\v his ciimpany makes its prixlucts. A practical aspect ot knovsing how your company makes its prinlucts is that of understanding some of your most important plant operations. Most prtxluction supervisors, product development engineers, and people resptmsible for getting things made in almost every kind of business are reasonable people. In most instances, they will listen, for example. to the plans of an audio-visual "pro" for shooting production sequences, with a sympathetic car. The thoughtful and alert visual man will make it his business to know a great deal about ilieir problems before making his desires known. If our hero knows that a certain production room or space is, by the nature of the work, likely to be untidy most of the time. he won't spring his plans for picture-making in the midst of a large production "push." This would involve not only getting in the way physically, and often upsetting production schedules, but. in addition, could easily affect the attitude of the plant operations people io the point where they refer to the audio-visual man as "that guy from sales." or "that dolt from the public relations department." In the words of the Music Man, Professor Harold Hill, an audio-visual ""pro" has to "know the territory," which more precisely THE PROFESSIONAL VTEVVPOINT means that lie should know his conipany's vtistomers. Again, it would be valuable if our man had had the experience of actually selling his company's goods but whether he has or not. he should know who the customers arc. Many times we find ourselves with a "perfect" scheme, designed to sell or promote goods, only to find when the scheme is carefully analyzed the message is not directed toward the proper audience. Naturally, if you are fortunate enough to have the assignment to create a better climate in which others may sell goods, then you are in the fortunate "image building" field, and a lot of things can be done in that area without strict accountability. But down at the hammer and nails level, your knowledge of who the customer is makes you a reliable member of the team. A little more difficult, but just as necessary to the audio-visual pro, is knowledge of how his coiupany sells it prodiicls. What is its marketing policy? Distribution system? Can you say whether it has a hard or soft sell policy? There are many little tip-olTs as to the character of your company . . . such as personnel policies, industrial relations programs, union relationships, even safety programs which can help you analyze your company's personality. Obviously, we all work for upstanding companies or we would resign, but there is a wide difference in the way soap and househo' tergents are sold from the way carth-n equipment and telephones are sold, times you can hitch-hike and adapt nv of selling goods from a widely divcrger of business but the point to remember u do you know how your company sells its tput? Even more difficult in the education • audio-visual "pro" is to know what pan company's line is profiuihle. He need i privy to all the inner profit pictures of hb , pany but he should be aware of the thiT of relative importance of his company's For example, we make Bivalent Be Antitoxin, Types A and B. This prodwa costly to make and rarely needed, result! a high price to the patient. But we m. and stock it all over the country again-: time some housewife cans her own ruta!_ and next spring her whole family is (It with a dread infection from consumin delectable morsel. If they get the antiti time, they may live. But don't build a if sales pitch picture on Botulism Antitoxin prl« because there aren't any. Better for us toa pictures of the Air Force Jet that flies itc the stricken family and let the wire sena and news media sing your praises, and 1^ that it won't sell any more antitoxin, wi runs your company in the red every time ^ package a vial of it. If you aren't familiar with the rclatisi;., (CONCLUDED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE )| 16 BUSINESS SC RI.EN ■ii